Tips on managing someone with anxiety please

[Puddingpieplum]

I am line managing someone new, she has anxiety and has a reduced workload and other adjustments.

I am not managing her operationally though, the set up isn't great but she gets her work allocated from someone else but I'm her LM. This is further complicated by the fact I've never done her job.

She is anxious about being judged on her work, how she fits in the team etc. I am being very supportive but there have been a few occasions where I think she's caused needless stress for us both by telling me a slightly altered version of the truth, leading to me spending ++ time supporting her in meetings etc, that she should be doing herself.

I want to support her to be happy in her role, but it's all a bit new to me, my other staff members are fairly robust and a challenge in other ways.

Any advice as either the manager or the team member please?

I just came across your chat and a shame no one has replied as I'm dealing with a similar issue. I'm managing and training someone with anxiety too and I do have to point out mistakes that have been made or things that have been done wrong and explain how it needs to be done instead.
There are things that we have gone over multiple times and mistakes are still being made or things being missed.
I'm trying to be as gentle as possible, non judgemental etc and I don't make a big deal of it, saying it's ok, mistakes happen, but just for information this is how we should be doing it. Or if you are not sure, have a look at how it's done historically or ask me.

But it would be irresponsible to allow the same errors to be made over and over when I've noticed and spotted them.
But I feel that when I do bring them up, even if gently, this person gets overwhelmed quickly.
I feel guilty for perhaps causing her extra stress by having to bring these things up and sometimes I don't mention things that are wrong because I don't want to make the anxiety worse, especially if there have been a few incidents already that day.

This person does seem to take quite long to get their head around things in the role and making me worry if they're even right for the job or if it's just cause they're not in the right headspace. I don't want to make the anxiety worse though.
I wonder if I'm using the right approach or how other people deal with this?

Be very Very careful. I managed someone with similar issues and over time the truth became stretched further and further with them twisting my words and downright lying about things I said or how I said them.

Even with someone else present to objectively make notes so we could both agree on what had been said this person would make claims about how things had been said or the different way they had interpreted the words.

It was a nightmare and I came to the conclusion that they were actually a covert narcissist using anxiety as an excuse.

Hopefully that's not the case for you but I would definitely recommend getting as much support as you can from HR and ER and document everything just in case.

It's human to make mistakes and taking a long time to learn can be ok- they might end up the best at that task in the long run. I make giving feedback a positive thing and make it clear you're giving it because invested in their development and want to help them thrive and succeed in the role. Give positive feedback whenever they do something well. Ask them for feedback about anything you can do to help with their anxiety at work eg always giving a reason for meeting rather than just asking if they are free for a quick call. Anxiety often coexists with conscientiousness and perfectionism- they're likely hard on themselves and want to do well which is better than being apathetic about their role. In the past they might have kept quiet about their anxiety but they feel able to be open about their mental health with their line manager and that's a good thing, your role is to support them so they can be a great member of the team.